Breaking News

31, December 2016

Congo-Kinshasa: Kabila agrees to quit power ⁰

The government of the Congolese President Joseph Kabila has reportedly reached an agreement with opposition parties to end the current political crisis in the Congo over his refusal to step down following a defeat in recent polls.

Under the last-minute accord struck Friday by political parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Kabila will leave office following elections due to be held by the end of 2017, press reports said citing the nation’s Catholic Church leaders who were mediating the negotiations.

“The government is asked to take all steps so that the elections are organized by the end of 2017 at the latest,” said Marcel Utembi, the president of the Congo’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Kabila’s presidential term expired on December 19, but ruling officials have effectively prolonged his mandate until 2018, claiming that the government would not be able to arrange elections before then.

A protester holds a bird as a crowd gathers to rally against extension of Kabila’s presidential term in the neighborhood of Yolo in Kinshasa on December 20, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Under the reported accord, which is expected to be officially signed on Saturday, Kabila will not be able to revise the constitution to allow him to remain in office for a third term. The parties further agreed that Kabila will appoint a prime minister from the Central African nation’s main opposition bloc to oversee the transition, a key point of contention in the final stages of negotiations. However, neither Kabila nor the country’s leading opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi are expected to sign the accord, press reports note, raising concerns about whether it would be honored.

Spokesmen for the government and Kabila’s ruling coalition were not available for immediate comment on the reported agreement. The development came as negotiators spent weeks in tense talks seeking to ensure the first peaceful transfer of power in the impoverished nation since its independence in 1960. It remains unclear, however, if polls can be arranged by the end of the upcoming year, or if leading politicians, including Kabila, will live up to the terms.

Meanwhile, Kabila’s extension of his rule has sparked bloody clashes in the country. Security forces killed nearly 40 protesters last week as they rallied against the continuing tenure of a ruler who rose to power in 2001 following his father’s assassination. There are growing concerns that the current standoff could lead to a repeat of clashes seen between 1996 and 2003 in eastern Congo in which many died, mainly due to starvation and disease.

Presstv

31, December 2016

Statue of former French President Charles de Gaulle destroyed in Douala ⁰

A statue of former French President, Charles de Gaulle has been destroyed in Douala. The attack on the statue was carried out by Andre Blaise Essama, the Cameroonian activist who recently built a statue of the late Dr. John Ngu Foncha and generated a national controversy.

Andre Blaise was recently released from prison after he orchestrated an attack on the statue of French General Le Clerc. Police said the incident, which was reported was being treated as criminal damage.

Andre Blaise Essama is now being considered the greatest Francophone Cameroonian of all time in a nationwide poll.

By Sonne Peter

31, December 2016

A total of 510.000 people have been newly registered on the electoral lists ⁰

A total of 510.000 people have been newly registered on the electoral lists in Cameroon. The Director General of Elections Cameroon, Abdoulaye Babaye made public this figure in Yaoundé on the 30^th of December 2016 during a ceremony to present and handover the voters lists of the 4.000 polling stations of the Centre Region to the Secretary General at the Centre Regional Governor’s Office.

As the revision of electoral lists begins on the 3rd of January 2017, Abdoulaye Babaye hopes the period will be another opportunity for Cameroonians to register and swell-up the number of potential voters. The present number of voters stands at 6.250.000.

CRTV

31, December 2016

CRTV board adopts 27.4 billion FCFA as 2017 budget ⁰

It was an ordinary session of the board of directors meeting consecrated for the adoption of the budget. But it turned out to be a session to assess the company’s performance some few months after a new management team was installed headed by veteran journalist, Charles Ndongo.

The Board of Directors noted with satisfaction the performance of the Corporation and the new team innovative style of management especially during recent important events in the country. A case in point being the recent coverage of the Women AFCON where CRTV with the introduction of the two outside broadcasting vans consolidated its position as the leader Media in the country.

27.4 billion FCFA was adopted as budget for 2017 calendar year with a number of projects identified. The Board of Directors resolved to support the newly created News channels to begin broadcast in 2017. The general manager, Charles Ndongo demanded and obtained a yes from the Board of Directors in his endeavor in improving the working conditions of employees of the Corporation.

CRTV

31, December 2016

Donald Trump praises Putin ⁰

US President-elect Donald Trump has praised “very smart” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision not to retaliate Washington’s recent expansion of sanctions against Moscow. On Thursday, President Barack Obama ordered a series of new sanctions against Russia as well as the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, accusing them of being spies.

However, Putin decided not to expel US diplomats in reprisal, saying he would rather wait to work with the Trump administration to solve the issue. “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!” Trump said in a tweet on Friday.

The message soon made the rounds on the internet and was retweeted by the Russian Embassy in the US. The new sanctions came in retaliation for what the White House and the US intelligence community claim to be Russia’s hacks of Democratic operatives and groups during the recent presidential election.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has reportedly determined in a secret assessment that the Kremlin interfered in the November 8 election to particularly help Trump defeat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Russia and Trump have both denied the accusations, with Putin saying that the US should either provide evidence or stop the allegations.

On Thursday, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided technical details about the tools and cyber infrastructure they said Russian civilian and military intelligence services used for the hack attack, code named Grizzly Steppe.

The document said the cyber attack was carried out to “compromise and exploit networks and endpoints associated with the US election, as well as a range of US government, political, and private sector entities.” However, it did not mention by name the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta, whose emails were hacked and released during the campaign.

WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy website that published the emails, has made it clear that a whistle-blower inside the DNC was behind the leaks and Russia had nothing to do with them. Obama’s move in slapping new sanctions on Russia was hailed by Republican heavyweights like Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain. Trump, however, criticized the US claims and said it was time to “move on.”

Presstv

30, December 2016

US: Obama under pressure to prove Russian hacking ⁰

The outgoing administration of US President Barack Obama is under extreme pressure to release evidence confirming allegations of cyber attacks by Russia to influence the presidential election before leaving office.

The Obama administration has only provided little documentation to support its official assessment in October that Moscow was attempting to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The White House has also failed to confirm subsequent leaks from anonymous officials contending that the CIA believes Moscow’s interference was an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to help President-elect Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.

Obama has ordered the intelligence community to conduct a full review of alleged hacking by the Russians before he leaves office on January 20. The White House has said it will make as much of the report public as it can. But officials have warned that the document will contain “highly sensitive and classified information” and it is unclear how much evidence it will be able to release.

Trump has rejected assertions that the Russian government was involved in the hacks on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, which published the stolen emails, has denied that the Russian government provided the files. The US claim has also been rejected by Moscow.

On Thursday, Obama ordered a series of economic sanctions against Russia, as well as expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats over hacking allegations. “I have ordered a number of actions in response to the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of US officials and cyber operations aimed at the US election,” Obama said in a statement.

According to statements from the White House and the Treasury Department, the sanctions target Russia’s FSB and GRU intelligence agencies, four individual GRU officers, and three companies who allegedly provided support to the GRU, and two Russian individuals for using cyberattacks to cause misappropriation of funds and personal identifying information.

Presstv

30, December 2016

Anglophone Problem: Dr Christopher Fomunyoh says Biya’s government does not listen ¹

Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh, Africa Regional Director of the National Democratic Institute, the US-based Think Tank has said that it is difficult under the current Biya pattern of governance to know who to make concrete proposals on how to resolve the Anglophone problem.

Christopher Fomunyoh added that the situation is becoming more intractable because hardliners in the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime keep refusing the existence of the problem. The renowned Anglophone personality also noted that President Biya cannot implement any acceptable solution to the prevailing situation in British Southern Cameroons.

He told Le Jour newspaper that “some speak of federalism as a solution, but there is no assurance that if adopted, federalism would not remain a dead letter, as the current regime has done with the decentralization adopted in 1996.” Dr. Fomunyoh hinted that for 20 years, the constitutional provisions to decentralization have not been applied. “It must be recognized that those who have governed our country for decades have mastered only one approach of Jacobin centralization of power “.

On the management of these social tensions by the CPDM government, Christopher Fomunyoh stated: “As I said last week in Kumba in the South West region, no Head of State or political leader chooses the crises that arise during his mandate, but it is on the management of these different crises that they are judged. I welcome the fact that Prime Minister Philemon Yang traveled to Bamenda to meet lawyers ‘and teachers’ leaders, and that the Governor of the North-West Region increased his citizen contacts at the height of the crisis to calm the spirits heated by the brutality of certain elements of the forces of order and by the false and untimely statements of certain policians. That said, you will recall that in a statement of 23rd November I asked that President Paul Biya address the nation to appease and reassure everyone. I remain convinced that such an approach initiated from the beginning would have allowed better management of the crisis “.

By Chi Prudence Asong

30, December 2016

Petit Pays cancels Buea End of Year concert ²

Legendary artist, Petit Pays has cancelled a concert that was slated for Buea on the 31^st of December by Mayor Ekema Patrick to boost the political image of the 83 year old Cameroonian dictator. The US based manager of the artist; Eyong Eyong Ebot who spoke to Cameroon Concord News by telephone observed that Petit Pays was not properly informed about the prevailing situation in Southern Cameroonians.

We understand the artist was in Buea recently where he made the video of his new album “Peur dans la cite’ and was contacted by the Buea municipal authorities. His manager also revealed that the musician has returned the money that was paid to him for the show.

Pressure actually came from pro Southern Cameroon groups both at home and abroad urging the cancellation of the concert tour in Buea by Petit Pays, whose shows often include many local artists from the South West region.

In a statement issued to a sister publication, Cameroon Intelligence Report, Eyong Eyong Ebot opined that ”conditions are still not conducive for Petit Pays to stage any show on behalf of any political group.” He added that Petit Pays needs a ‘romantic environment and not a hostile climate.”

Petit Pays is scheduled to play in France, Moscow and Japan beginning on the same date of the pro President Biya activity in Buea. His award-winning Peur dans la cite recording featured a duet with Bate Nico, the voice of Manyu.

Anglophone teachers and lawyers have boycotted talks with the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government to end Francophone-majority rule in Southern Cameroons. They say the negotiations were a CPDM government ploy to remain in power and continue to loot Southern Cameroons.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

29, December 2016

Prof. GHOGOMU Paul MINGO: Statement by the Judas Iscariot after the failed Bamenda meeting ³

After deliberations, the Francophone surrogate passing for a chairman of the Adhoc Interministerial Committee made public this communique;

1- The Ad hoc Committee wished to work with all members. However, based on claims which have nothing to do with education, trade unions and other associations left the hall. Only representatives of confessional private education and private higher education displayed a sense of good faith to contribute to the working session.

2- The three ministers of basic, secondary and higher education presented Government efforts towards the English-speaking subsystem of education and its willingness to continue dialogue. I will cite, amongst others, the on-going census of secondary school teachers to redeploy them to fill the gap observed in the English-speaking subsystem of education. It is also the same for the draft Order to set the duration of studies and naming the certificates obtained in technical education of the English-speaking subsystem of education. I also wish to mention the holding of the National Forum on Education in 2017, which brings lots of hope for the education community as a whole and the English subsystem in particular.

3- I wish to congratulate all participants who had a sense of efficiency and patriotism.

4- Within the framework of its sovereign missions, the State will continue towards dialogue and concertation with all stakeholders to achieve realistic and progressive results to technical concerns of one sub-system of education or the other (English-speaking subsystem, French sub-system).

5- Both sub-systems are bound to coexist in Cameroon, each in its specificity and originality without anyone trying to absorb the other.

6- With regard to extremist trade unionists who publicly refused to be part of this working session for reasons that have nothing to do with the education of young Cameroonians, Government will take its responsibility.

7- The State shall not allow individuals who do not show proof of good faith to take pupils, students, parents, Civil Society Organizations hostage; they who have just one wish: That the English-speaking sub-system of education should function effectively in the interest of our nursery, primary, secondary and university youth of the English-speaking subsystem, who are an integral part of the national educational system.

8- The Adhoc committee shall continue to work with people who display good faith to preserve the specificity, the originality and the radiance of the English-speaking subsystem of education in a Cameroon that is united in diversity.

9- The Adhoc Committee is determined to find efficient solutions to genuine problems in the English-speaking subsystem of education, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Republic.

10- I wish to inform you that we have met with students, teachers in their large majority, parents and all people of good will. They are against this manipulation of trade unions, and will want schools to start as soon as possible. That is the Government’s stand point. Let us not jeopardize our children’s future.

11- We call on all men and women, Cameroonians of good will to do all so that classes resume early January in all parts of the North West and South West Regions. The Government will take her responsibility. Cameroonian children in the North West and South West regions must be educated as their brothers and sisters in the other eight regions.

29, December 2016

Boko Haram militants surrender in Niger ⁰

Dozens of militants with the Takfiri Boko Haram terrorist group have surrendered to Nigerien authorities, less than a week after Nigeria announced that its troops captured the group’s last key bastion in the country’s northeast.

“Thirty one young people from Diffa, who were enrolled a few years ago in Boko Haram, decided to surrender,” Nigerien Interior Minister Bazoum Mohamed said. The troubled Diffa region, located in the southeasternmost part of Niger, borders Nigeria’s volatile Borno State, where Boko Haram hides in the dense Sambisa Forest.

One of the deserters appeared on a Nigerien public television program and recounted why they had decided to give themselves up to local authorities. “We have deserted Boko Haram because we found that what the organization stands for is not acceptable. We expect a pardon from the government so that we can participate in the development of the country and help us get rid of the trauma,” he said.

The Nigerien government has reportedly assured that it will grant an amnesty for all the deserters providing that they undergo a de-radicalization program, after which they will be enrolled in socio-economic reintegration projects.

Back in June, tens of thousands of people were forced to abandon their homes in Diffa as Boko Haram terrorists launched a sweeping offensive across the region, and in September, at least five Nigerien troopers were killed by the terror group near the village of Toumour, about 65 kilometers northeast of Diffa.

Niger has been one of the countries affected by the more than seven years of Boko Haram militancy in Nigeria. The Takfiri terrorist group has routinely launched attacks across Nigerian borders into Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Presstv